As used in this Chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates,
the following terms mean:
Any meeting, record or vote closed to the public.
If requested by a member of the public, copies provided as detailed in Section 120.100 of this Chapter, if duplication equipment is available.
All matters which relate in any way to performance of the
City's functions or the conduct of its business.
Any legislative, administrative or governmental entity created
by the Constitution or Statutes of this State, orders or ordinances
of the City, judicial entities when operating in an administrative
capacity or by executive order, including:
Any advisory committee or commission appointed by the Mayor
or Board of Aldermen.
Any department or division of the City.
Any other legislative or administrative governmental deliberative
body under the direction of three (3) or more elected or appointed
members having rule-making or quasi-judicial power.
Any committee appointed by or at the direction of any of the
entities and which is authorized to report to any of the above-named
entities, any advisory committee appointed by or at the direction
of any of the named entities for the specific purpose of recommending,
directly to the public governmental body's governing board or its
Chief Administrative Officer, policy or policy revisions or expenditures
of public funds.
Any quasi-public governmental body. The term "quasi-public governmental
body" means any person, corporation or partnership organized or authorized
to do business in this State pursuant to the provisions of Chapter
352, 353 or 355, RSMo., or unincorporated association which either:
Has as its primary purpose to enter into contracts with public
governmental bodies or to engage primarily in activities carried out
pursuant to an agreement or agreements with public governmental bodies;
or
Performs a public function, as evidenced by a statutorily or
ordinance-based capacity, to confer or otherwise advance, through
approval, recommendation or other means, the allocation or issuance
of tax credits, tax abatement, public debt, tax exempt debt, rights
of eminent domain, or the contracting of lease-back agreements on
structures whose annualized payments commit public tax revenues; or
any association that directly accepts the appropriation of money from
the City, but only to the extent that a meeting, record or vote relates
to such appropriation.
Any meeting of a public governmental body subject to this
Chapter at which any public business is discussed, decided or public
policy formulated, whether such meeting is conducted in person or
by means of communication equipment, including, but not limited to,
conference call, video conference, Internet chat or Internet message
board. The term "public meeting" shall not include an informal gathering
of members of a public governmental body for ministerial or social
purposes when there is no intent to avoid the purposes of this Chapter,
but the term shall include a vote of all or a majority of the members
of a public governmental body, by electronic communication or any
other means, conducted in lieu of holding a public meeting with the
members of the public governmental body gathered at one (1) location
in order to conduct public business.
Any record, whether written or electronically stored, retained
by or of any public governmental body, including any report, survey,
memorandum, or other document or study prepared for the public governmental
body by a consultant or other professional service paid for in whole
or in part by public funds, including records created or maintained
by private contractors under an agreement with a public governmental
body or on behalf of a public governmental body. The term "public
record" shall not include any internal memorandum or letter received
or prepared by or on behalf of a member of a public governmental body
consisting of advice, opinions and recommendations in connection with
the deliberative decision-making process of said body, unless such
records are retained by the public governmental body or presented
at a public meeting. Any documents or study prepared for a public
governmental body by a consultant or other professional service as
described in this Section shall be retained by the public governmental
body in the same manner as any other public record.
Any vote, whether conducted in person, by telephone, or by
any other electronic means, cast at any public meeting of any public
governmental body.
A.
All meetings, records and votes are open to the public, except that
any meeting, record or vote relating to one (1) or more of the following
matters, as well as other materials designated elsewhere in this Chapter,
shall be closed unless the public governmental body votes to make
them public:
1.
Legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving a public
governmental body and any confidential or privileged communications
between a public governmental body or its representatives and its
attorneys. However, any minutes, vote or settlement agreement relating
to legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving a public
governmental body or any agent or entity representing its interests
or acting on its behalf or with its authority, including any insurance
company acting on behalf of a public governmental body as its insured,
shall be made public upon final disposition of the matter voted upon
or upon the signing by the parties of the settlement agreement, unless,
prior to final disposition, the settlement agreement is ordered closed
by a court after a written finding that the adverse impact to a plaintiff
or plaintiffs to the action clearly outweighs the public policy considerations
of Section 610.011, RSMo.; however, the amount of any monies paid
by, or on behalf of, the public governmental body shall be disclosed;
provided, however, in matters involving the exercise of the power
of eminent domain, the vote shall be announced or become public immediately
following the action on the motion to authorize institution of such
a legal action. Legal work product shall be considered a closed record.
2.
Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental
body where public knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect
the legal consideration therefor. However, any minutes or vote or
public record approving a contract relating to the leasing, purchase
or sale of real estate by a public governmental body shall be made
public upon execution of the lease, purchase or sale of the real estate.
3.
Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees
by a public governmental body when personal information about the
employee is discussed or recorded. However, any vote on a final decision,
when taken by a public governmental body, to hire, fire, promote or
discipline an employee of a public governmental body shall be made
available with a record of how each member voted to the public within
seventy-two (72) hours of the close of the meeting where such action
occurs; provided, however, that any employee so affected shall be
entitled to prompt notice of such decision during the seventy-two-hour
period before such decision is made available to the public. As used
in this Subsection, the term "personal information" means information
relating to the performance or merit of individual employees.
4.
Non-judicial mental or physical health proceedings involving
an identifiable person, including medical, psychiatric, psychological,
or alcoholism or drug dependency diagnosis or treatment.
5.
Testing and examination materials, before the test or examination
is given or, if it is to be given again, before so given again.
6.
Welfare cases of identifiable individuals.
7.
Preparation, including any discussions or work product, on behalf
of a public governmental body or its representatives for negotiations
with employee groups.
8.
Software codes for electronic data processing and documentation
thereof.
9.
Specifications for competitive bidding, until either the specifications
are officially approved by the public governmental body or the specifications
are published for bid.
10.
Sealed bids and related documents, until the bids are opened;
and sealed proposals and related documents or any documents related
to a negotiated contract until a contract is executed, or all proposals
are rejected.
11.
Individually identifiable personnel records, performance ratings
or records pertaining to employees or applicants for employment, except
that this exemption shall not apply to the names, positions, salaries
and lengths of service of officers and employees of public agencies
once they are employed as such.
12.
Records which are protected from disclosure by law.
13.
Meetings and public records relating to scientific and technological
innovations in which the owner has a proprietary interest.
14.
Records relating to municipal hotlines established for the reporting
of abuse and wrongdoing.
15.
Confidential or privileged communications between a public governmental
body and its auditor, including all auditor work product; however,
all final audit reports issued by the auditor are to be considered
open records pursuant to this Chapter.
16.
Operational guidelines, policies and specific response plans
developed, adopted, or maintained by any public agency responsible
for law enforcement, public safety, first response, or public health
for use in responding to or preventing any critical incident which
is or appears to be terrorist in nature and which has the potential
to endanger individual or public safety or health. Financial records
related to the procurement of or expenditures relating to operational
guidelines, policies or plans purchased with public funds shall be
open. When seeking to close information pursuant to this exception,
the public governmental body shall affirmatively state in writing
that disclosure would impair the public governmental body's ability
to protect the security or safety of persons or real property, and
shall in the same writing state that the public interest in non-disclosure
outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the records.
17.
Existing or proposed security systems and structural plans of
real property owned or leased by a public governmental body, and information
that is voluntarily submitted by a non-public entity owning or operating
an infrastructure to any public governmental body for use by that
body to devise plans for protection of that infrastructure, the public
disclosure of which would threaten public safety.
a.
Records related to the procurement of or expenditures relating
to security systems purchased with public funds shall be open.
b.
When seeking to close information pursuant to this exception,
the public governmental body shall affirmatively state in writing
that disclosure would impair the public governmental body's ability
to protect the security or safety of persons or real property and
shall in the same writing state that the public interest in non-disclosure
outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the records.
c.
Records that are voluntarily submitted by a non-public entity
shall be reviewed by the receiving agency within ninety (90) days
of submission to determine if retention of the document is necessary
in furtherance of a State security interest. If retention is not necessary,
the documents shall be returned to the non-public governmental body
or destroyed.
18.
The portion of a record that identifies security systems or
access codes or authorization codes for security systems of real property.
19.
Records that identify the configuration of components or the
operation of a computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications
network and would allow unauthorized access to or unlawful disruption
of a computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications
network of a public governmental body. This exception shall not be
used to limit or deny access to otherwise public records in a file,
document, data file or database containing public records. Records
related to the procurement of or expenditures relating to such computer,
computer system, computer network or telecommunications network, including
the amount of monies paid by, or on behalf of, a public governmental
body for such computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications
network, shall be open.
20.
Credit card numbers, personal identification numbers, digital
certificates, physical and virtual keys, access codes or authorization
codes that are used to protect the security of electronic transactions
between a public governmental body and a person or entity doing business
with a public governmental body. Nothing in this Section shall be
deemed to close the record of a person or entity using a credit card
held in the name of a public governmental body or any record of a
transaction made by a person using a credit card or other method of
payment for which reimbursement is made by a public governmental body.
21.
Individually identifiable customer usage and billing records
for customers of a municipally owned utility, unless the records are
requested by the customer or authorized for release by the customer,
except that a municipally owned utility shall make available to the
public the customer's name, billing address, location of service,
and dates of service provided for any commercial service account.
Any member of a public governmental body who transmits any message
relating to public business by electronic means shall also concurrently
transmit that message to either the member's public office computer
or the custodian of records in the same format. The provisions of
this Section shall only apply to messages sent to two (2) or more
members of that body so that, when counting the sender, a majority
of the body's members are copied. Any such message received by the
custodian or at the member's office computer shall be a public record
subject to the exception of Section 610.021, RSMo.
A.
All public governmental bodies shall give notice of the time, date
and place of each meeting and its tentative agenda in a manner reasonably
calculated to advise the public of the matters to be considered, and
if the meeting will be conducted by telephone or other electronic
means, the notice of the meeting shall identify the mode by which
the meeting will be conducted and the designated location where the
public may observe and attend the meeting. If a public body plans
to meet by Internet chat, Internet message board or other computer
link, it shall post a notice of the meeting on its website in addition
to its principal office and shall notify the public how to access
that meeting. Reasonable notice shall include making available copies
of the notice to any representative of the news media who requests
notice of meetings of a particular public governmental body concurrent
with the notice being made available to the members of the particular
governmental body and posting the notice on a bulletin board or other
prominent place which is easily accessible to the public and clearly
designated for that purpose at the principal office of the body holding
the meeting, or if no such office exists, at the building in which
the meeting is to be held.
B.
Notice conforming with all of the requirements of Subsection (A) of this Section shall be given at least twenty-four (24) hours, exclusive of weekends and holidays when City Hall is closed, prior to the commencement of any meeting of a governmental body unless for good cause such notice is impossible or impractical, in which case as much notice as is reasonably possible shall be given.
C.
The City shall allow for the recording by audiotape, videotape or other electronic means of any open meeting. The City may establish guidelines regarding the manner in which such recording is conducted so as to minimize disruption to the meeting. No audio recording of any meeting, record or vote closed pursuant to the provisions of Section 120.020 shall be permitted without permission of the City; any person who violates this provision shall be guilty of an ordinance violation.
D.
Each governmental body proposing to hold a closed meeting or vote shall give notice of the time, date and place of such closed meeting or vote and the reason for holding it by reference to a specific exception allowed pursuant to Section 120.020 hereof. The notice shall be the same as described in Subsection (A) herein.
E.
A formally constituted subunit of a parent governmental body may
conduct a meeting without notice during a lawful meeting of the parent
governmental body, a recess in that meeting, or immediately following
that meeting if the meeting of the subunit is publicly announced at
the parent meeting and the subject of the meeting reasonably coincides
with the subjects discussed or acted upon by the parent governmental
body.
For any public meeting where a vote of the Board of Aldermen
is required to implement a tax increase, or with respect to a retail
development project when the Board of Aldermen votes to utilize the
power of eminent domain, create a transportation development district
or a community improvement district, or approve a redevelopment plan
that pledges public funds as financing for the project or plan, the
Board of Aldermen or any entity created by the City shall give notice
conforming with all the requirements of Subsection (1) of Section
610.020, RSMo., at least four (4) days before such entity may vote
on such issues, exclusive of weekends and holidays when the facility
is closed; provided that this Section shall not apply to any votes
or discussion related to proposed ordinances which require a minimum
of two (2) separate readings on different days for their passage.
The provisions of Subsection (4) of Section 610.020, RSMo., shall
not apply to any matters that are subject to the provisions of this
Section. No vote shall occur until after a public meeting on the matter
at which parties in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity
to be heard. If the notice required under this Section is not properly
given, no vote on such issues shall be held until proper notice has
been provided under this Section. Any legal action challenging the
notice requirements provided herein shall be filed within thirty (30)
days of the subject meeting, or such meeting shall be deemed to have
been properly noticed and held. For the purpose of this Section, a
tax increase shall not include the setting of the annual tax rates
provided for under Sections 67.110 and 137.055, RSMo.
A.
Except as set forth in Subsection (D) of Section 120.040, no meeting or vote may be closed without an affirmative public vote of the majority of a quorum of the public governmental body. The vote of each member of the governmental body on the question of closing a public meeting or vote and the specific reason for closing that public meeting or vote by reference to a specific Section of this Chapter shall be announced publicly at an open meeting of the governmental body and entered into the minutes.
B.
Any meeting or vote closed pursuant to Section 120.020 shall be closed only to the extent necessary for the specific reason announced to justify the closed meeting or vote. Public governmental bodies shall not discuss any business in a closed meeting, record or vote which does not directly relate to the specific reason announced to justify the closed meeting or vote. Public governmental bodies holding a closed meeting shall close only an existing portion of the meeting facility necessary to house the members of the public governmental body in the closed session, allowing members of the public to remain to attend any subsequent open session held by the public governmental body following the closed session.
A.
Except as provided in Section 120.020, rules authorized pursuant to Article III of the Missouri Constitution and as otherwise provided by law, all votes shall be recorded, and if a roll call is taken, as to attribute each "yea" and "nay" vote, or abstinence if not voting, to the name of the individual member of the public governmental body. Any votes taken during a closed meeting shall be taken by roll call. All public meetings shall be open to the public and public votes and public records shall be open to the public for inspection and duplication. All votes taken by roll call in meetings of a public governmental body consisting of members who are all elected shall be cast by members of the public governmental body who are physically present and in attendance at the meeting or who are participating via videoconferencing. When it is necessary to take votes by roll call in a meeting of the public governmental body, due to an emergency of the public body, with a quorum of the members of the public body physically present and in attendance and less than a quorum of the members of the public governmental body participating via telephone, facsimile, Internet, or any other voice or electronic means, the nature of the emergency of the public body justifying that departure from the normal requirements shall be stated in the minutes. Where such emergency exists, the votes taken shall be regarded as if all members were physically present and in attendance at the meeting.
B.
A journal or minutes of open and closed meetings shall be taken and
retained by the public governmental body, including, but not limited
to, a record of any vote taken at such meeting. The minutes shall
include the date, time, place, members present, members absent, and
a record of votes taken. When a roll call vote is taken, the minutes
shall attribute each "yea" and "nay" vote, or abstinence if not voting,
to the name of the individual member of the public governmental body.
A.
Each meeting shall be held at a place reasonably accessible to the
public and of sufficient size to accommodate the anticipated attendance
by members of the public and at a time reasonably convenient to the
public unless for good cause such a place or time is impossible or
impractical. Every reasonable effort shall be made to grant special
access to the meeting to handicapped or disabled individuals.
B.
When it is necessary to hold a meeting on less than twenty-four (24)
hours' notice, or at a place that is not reasonably accessible to
the public, or at a time that is not reasonably convenient to the
public, the nature of the good cause justifying that departure from
the normal requirements shall be stated in the minutes.
If a public record contains material which is not exempt from
disclosure, as well as material which is exempt from disclosure, the
custodian shall separate the exempt and non-exempt material and make
the non-exempt material available for examination and copying in accord
with the policies provided herein. When designing a public record
the custodian shall, to the extent practicable, facilitate a separation
of exempt from non-exempt information. If the separation is readily
apparent to a person requesting to inspect or receive copies of the
form, the custodian shall generally describe the material exempted
unless that description would reveal the contents of the exempt information
and thus defeat the purpose of the exemption.
A.
The City Clerk shall be the custodian of records and will be responsible
for maintenance and control of all records. The custodian may designate
deputy custodians in operating departments of the City and such other
departments or offices as the custodian may determine. Deputy custodians
shall conduct matters relating to public records and meetings in accord
with the policies enumerated herein.
B.
Each public governmental body shall make available for inspection
and copying by the public of that body's public records. No person
shall remove original public records from the office of a public governmental
body or its custodian without written permission of the designated
custodian. No public governmental body shall, after August 28, 1998,
grant to any person or entity, whether by contract, license or otherwise,
the exclusive right to access and disseminate any public record unless
the granting of such right is necessary to facilitate coordination
with, or uniformity among, industry regulators having similar authority.
C.
Each request for access to a public record shall be acted upon as
soon as possible, but in no event later than the end of the third
business day following the date the request is received by the custodian
of records of a public governmental body. If records are requested
in a certain format, the public body shall provide the records in
the requested format, if such format is available. If access to the
public record is not granted immediately, the custodian shall give
a detailed explanation of the cause for further delay and the place
and earliest time and date that the record will be available for inspection.
This period for document production may exceed three (3) days for
reasonable cause.
D.
If a request for access is denied, the custodian shall provide, upon
request, a written statement of the grounds for such denial. Such
statement shall cite the specific provision of law under which access
is denied and shall be furnished to the requester no later than the
end of the third business day following the date that the request
for the statement is received.
E.
Law enforcement records of the St. Charles County Police Department
providing services to the City, including arrest reports, incident
reports, and investigative reports, are records of said department
and not of the City. The City Clerk is not the custodian of such records
and shall direct individuals requesting such records to the St. Charles
County Police Department.
A.
Except as otherwise provided by law, each public governmental body
shall provide access to and, upon request, furnish copies of public
records subject to the following:
1.
Fees for copying public records, except those records restricted
under Section 32.091, RSMo., shall not exceed ten cents ($0.10) per
page for a paper copy not larger than nine (9) inches by fourteen
(14) inches, with the hourly fee for duplicating time not to exceed
the average hourly rate of pay for clerical staff of the public governmental
body. Research time required for fulfilling records requests may be
charged at the actual cost of research time. Based on the scope of
the request, the public governmental body shall produce the copies
using employees of the body that result in the lowest amount of charges
for search, research and duplication time. Prior to producing copies
of the requested records, the person requesting the records may request
the public governmental body to provide an estimate of the cost to
the person requesting the records. Documents may be furnished without
charge or at a reduced charge when the public governmental body determines
that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest because
it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of
the operations or activities of the public governmental body and is
not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
2.
Fees for providing access to public records maintained on computer
facilities, recording tapes or disks, videotapes or films, pictures,
maps, slides, graphics, illustrations or similar audio or visual items
or devices and for paper copies larger than nine (9) inches by fourteen
(14) inches shall include only the cost of copies, staff time, which
shall not exceed the average hourly rate of pay for staff of the public
governmental body required for making copies and programming, if necessary,
and the cost of the disk, tape or other medium used for the duplication.
Fees for maps, blueprints or plats that require special expertise
to duplicate may include the actual rate of compensation for the trained
personnel required to duplicate such maps, blueprints or plats. If
programming is required beyond the customary and usual level to comply
with a request for records or information, the fees for compliance
may include the actual cost of such programming.
B.
Payment of such copying fees may be requested prior to the making
of copies.
[Ord. No. 19-14, 8-22-2019; Ord.
No. 22-11, 9-15-2022]
A.
Notwithstanding
any other provision of the Code of Ordinances to the contrary, a member
of the Board of Aldermen or an Appointed Official may attend and participate
in a public meeting of that body from a remote location via videoconferencing
provided attendance and participation in the meeting is in compliance
with the Remote Participation Policy set forth in this Section and
Missouri law.
B.
APPOINTED OFFICIAL
BOARD MEMBER
CITY STAFF
CLOSED MEETING
OPEN MEETING LAW
OTHER PARTICIPANTS
PUBLIC COMMENT
PUBLIC HEARING
PUBLIC MEETING
PUBLIC GOVERNMENTAL BODY
Definitions.
For purposes of this Section, the following definitions shall apply
unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
Any City official formally appointed by the Mayor and confirmed
by the Board of Aldermen to serve in an official capacity on a City
board, commission, committee, or other governing body of the City
of Weldon Spring.
Any Board of Aldermen member or the Mayor of the City of
Weldon Spring.
Shall refer to persons employed by the City of Weldon Spring.
Shall have the same meaning as set forth in Section 610.010,
RSMo., as amended.
Shall mean Chapter 610, RSMo., as amended.
Shall refer to individuals having official City business
before the governing body.
A section in the Board of Aldermen meeting where citizens
and/or members of the general public have three (3) minutes to address
the governing body.
A formal proceeding held in order to receive testimony from
all interested parties, including the general public, on a proposed
issue or action.
Shall have the same meaning as set forth in Section 610.010,
RSMo., as amended, but shall not include a closed meeting. Also, a
Public Meeting can be a meeting of a board, commission, or committee
that is recognized by Municipal Codes where the members were appointed
by the Mayor and confirmed by the Board of Aldermen.
Shall have the same meaning as set forth in Section 610.010,
RSMo., as amended.
C.
Policy
Statement. It is the policy of the City of Weldon Spring that any
Board of Aldermen member or Appointed Official may attend and participate
in a public meeting from a remote location via videoconferencing provided
attendance and participation is in compliance with this policy and
any other applicable law. This policy is promulgated to promote greater
participation in government. Board Members and Appointed Officials
are encouraged to make all efforts to physically attend public meetings
whenever possible. Board Members and Appointed Officials have a responsibility
to ensure that remote participation in a public meeting is not used
to thwart the purposes of the Open Meeting Law. Board Member and Appointed
Official attendance via videoconference should only occur sparingly
and for good cause.
D.
Prerequisites.
A Board Member and an Appointed Official shall be provided the opportunity
to attend a public meeting from a remote location if the Board Member
meets the following conditions:
1.
The Board Member and/or Appointed Official must notify the City Clerk
or designated personnel in writing or electronic communication at
least one (1) business day before the public meeting of his/her intent
to remotely participate in the public meeting.
2.
Board Members and/or Appointed Officials who participate remotely
and all persons present in the public meeting location shall be clearly
visible to the greatest extent practicable and audible to each other.
3.
The Board Member and/or Appointed Officials must assert one (1) of
the following reasons why he or she is unable to physically attend
a pubic meeting of the public governmental body of which he/she is
a member:
4.
A majority of the full public governing body Board of Aldermen must
be physically present at the designated meeting location to constitute
a quorum.
[Ord. No. 19-14, 8-22-2019; Ord.
No. 22-11, 9-15-2022]
A.
Policy
Statement. While it is legally permissible for members of the City's
public governmental bodies to attend meetings and vote via video conference
transmission, a member's use of video conference attendance should
occur only sparingly because it is good public policy for citizens
to have the opportunity to meet with their elected officials face
to face. Elected/appointed members of a public governmental body should
endeavor to be physically present at all meetings unless video conference
attendance is unavoidable, after exercising due diligence to arrange
for physical presence at the meeting.
1.
The primary purpose of attendance by video conference connection
should be to accommodate the public governmental body as a whole to
allow meetings to occur when circumstances would otherwise prevent
a physical attendance of all of the public governmental body.
2.
A secondary purpose of attendance by video conference should be to
ensure that all members may participate in business of the public
governmental body.
|
Except in emergency situations, all efforts should be expended
to ensure that a quorum of the members of the public governmental
body be physically present at the normal meeting place of the body.
|
B.
Video
Conference Defined. For purposes of this Section "video conference" or "videoconferencing" shall refer to a means of
communication where at least one (1) member of a public governmental
body participates in the public meeting via an electronic connection
made up of two (2) components:
1.
A live audio and video transmission allowing the member of the public
governmental body not in physical attendance to be seen and heard
by those in physical attendance; and
2.
A live audio and video transmission allowing the member of the public
governmental body not in physical attendance to see and hear those
in physical attendance at a meeting.
|
If the member of the public governmental body not in physical
attendance becomes unable to see and hear the meeting, or the members
of the governmental body in physical attendance become unable to see
and hear the member not in physical attendance, then the video conference
participant is deemed immediately absent unless and until audio/visual
conference is reestablished and this absence should be reflected in
the minutes. A video conference participant's absence may compromise
a quorum in which case the applicable Missouri laws shall take effect
regarding a broken quorum.
|
C.
Frequency Of Use Of Video Conference Attendance. In keeping with the policy stated in Subsection (A) above, attendance via video conference should only occur sparingly and be limited to the causes identified in Section 120.110(D)(3).
D.
Physical
Location. Members of the public may view the public meeting but cannot
verbally participate unless they wish to speak in the public comment
or public hearing section of the meeting if:
1.
The individual notifies the City Clerk or designated person in writing
or electronic communication at least one (1) business day prior to
the public meeting of his/her intent.
2.
The individual must be clearly visible and audible by the people
in attendance of the meeting.
|
The public wishing to attend a meeting, and elected officials
not participating via videoconferencing of the meeting, shall participate
at the physical location where meetings of the public governmental
body are typically held, or as provided in a notice provided in accordance
with the Sunshine Law. The public governmental body shall cause there
to be provided at the physical location communication equipment consisting
of an audio and visual display, so that the members of the public
governmental body participating via videoconferencing, the members
of the public governmental body in physical attendance, and the public
in physical attendance may actively participate in the meeting in
accordance with rules of meeting decorum. The communication equipment
at the physical location at the meeting must allow for all meeting
attendees to see, hear, and fully communicate with the videoconferencing
participant.
|
E.
Prerequisites
For Other Participants And City Staff.
1.
Out-of-town applicants, consultants, or other individuals/representatives
having official City business before the governing body may participate
remotely when:
2.
City staff may fully participate remotely in a public meeting when:
a.
Notifying the City Administrator and/or City Clerk, as well as the
Chairman of that governing body in writing or electronic communication
of their intent with good cause at least one (1) business day prior
to the meeting.
b.
The individual must be clearly visible and audible to be heard by
the people in attendance of the meeting.
F.
Voting. Elected members of a public governmental body attending a public meeting of that governmental body via video conference are deemed present for purposes of participating in a vote, including a roll call vote, to the same extent as elected members of a public governmental body in physical attendance at a public meeting of that governmental body are deemed present. As indicated in Subsection (B) above, if any component of the video conference communication fails during the meeting, the member attending the meeting by video conference whose connection failed shall be deemed absent immediately upon such failure, and if the public governmental body was in the act of voting, the voting shall stop until all of the components of video conference attendance are again restored and the video conference participant's presence is again noted in the minutes or the member's remote attendance is terminated or abandoned. If the connection with the member attending the meeting by video conference fails during the voting process and before the results are announced, the member's vote, if any, is nullified and shall not be counted.
G.
Closed
Meetings. In a meeting where a member of a public governmental body
is participating via videoconferencing and the meeting goes into a
closed session, all provisions of Missouri law and City ordinances
relating to closed sessions apply. Upon the public governmental body's
initiation of a closed meeting, all members of the general public
not required for purposes of the closed meeting and invited to the
attend by the public governmental body, shall be excluded. Likewise,
a member of a public governmental body participating via videoconferencing
must ensure there are no members of the public present at their location
to see, hear, or otherwise communicate during the closed session.
Closed meetings shall not be recorded by video, audio, or other means
by either those in-person or virtually in attendance. The member must
also take all reasonable precautions to guard against interception
of communication by others. Failure to ensure the requirements of
this Subsection may result in corrective action by the full public
governmental body in accordance with City regulations, including the
termination of their video connection.
H.
Minutes.
In the meeting, whether in open or in closed session, the minutes
taken should reflect the member(s), if any, participating via video
conference, the members in physical attendance, and members, if any,
absent.
I.
Emergency Meetings And Quorum. In addition to the provisions of Section 110.200, in the event that emergency circumstances prevent the members of a public governmental body to physically attend, the body may meet and vote by video conference without the requirement that a quorum be physically present in the same place. Examples of such emergency circumstances, include, but are not limited to, war, riot, terrorism, widespread fire, or natural disaster, such as earthquake, tornado, hurricane, flood, or blizzard. To the extent reasonably possible in such circumstances, the public governmental body shall use reasonable efforts to cause a physical location to be provided for public attendance and participation. The nature of the emergency shall be recorded in the minutes. If no emergency exists, a quorum of the public governmental body shall be physically present at the physical location for which notice of a meeting is provided.
